a father's love

be forewarned, you will probably need some tissues when you watch these videos. but they will be the happy, life-changing kind of tears, and those are the best kind. this is how much god loves us!

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" -1 John 3:1

"...how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ!" -Ephesians 3:18

YARRR!

to celebrate his 30th birthday, i threw joshua--erm, captain redrum--a pirate party at our place. HOURS of playtime fun!

scurvy curs

captain redrum & the murderous mermaid

( & aye, me sword is real... cheers for the wedding gift, jameson!)

YO-HO, blow the candles out!

YARRR! dark chocolate chip cupcakes w/ raspberry truffle & cream cheese icing

pirate love

the dreaded smoyer brothers, terrors of the high seas

captain redrum loves his grog

which leads us toooo...

this lovely star wars sea shanty: (that's me cracking up that you hear.)

happy birthday, baby!

today is josh's big 3-0. i thought i'd take this opportunity to list 30 things i love about him, in no particular order.

1) his heartfelt prayer to "be a light" to our friends, showing them jesus' love
2) his mischievous grin
3) his willingness to help anyone, even total strangers, at any time
4) his smiley eyes
5) his childlike playfulness
6) his voice
7) his mad handyman skills--seriously, it seems there is nothing this man can't do!
8) his family
9) his love for a job well done
10) his enthusiasm for my cooking :o)
11) his sweet kisses
12) his ability to "fight fair" (a.k.a. kindness)
13) his loud laugh
14) his self-sacrificial love for me
15) his ability to make me laugh at myself
16) his naming an orange boat the "black pearl" and a blue boat the "green eyed lady"
17) his generousity
18) his love for people
19) his love for music
20) his crazy sideburns
21) his passion for the outdoors
22) his creativity in building his own mountain bike
23) his hugs
24) his loyalty
25) his love for reading aloud to each other
26) his honor
27) his thoughtfulness
28) his hard work to support us
29) his love for children & the elderly
30) & most of all, his love for jesus

if you get the chance today, call or text him birthday wishes!

the privilege of prayer

it is a privilege that we get to call the creator of the universe "daddy", and to ask him for good gifts! i also consider it a privilege whenever someone asks me to pray for them. to be entrusted, by god and another person, with such a life-changing activity is humbling.

my friend and former co-worker at new vistas, rachel, has asked not only for my prayer, but for yours as well. ...yes, you, if you're reading this! :o)

rachel and her hubby are expecting a baby boy, gavan, in june. yesterday was their one year anniversary of a very painful miscarriage, and they were scheduled to have an ultrasound to see how this little one is doing. (rachel has gestational diabetes which has made for some really rough pregnancies.)

the doctors told them yesterday that gavan is not doing so well and more than likely has down's syndrome or some form of trisonomy. the next 4 weeks are a very critical time for this wee one. obviously, the family is very concerned for gavan's wellbeing, as well as being shaken by the news. will you please ask our heavenly daddy to comfort their family and to protect little gavan's life?

thank you!

new life

the sun is dazzlingly bright this morning. the sky is baby blue. there's a whisper of breeze dancing with the trees. the birds are singing an opera whose words are known only to them, but their meaning is clear. they believe spring has arrived. and i can feel the same hope creeping into my winter-weary soul. i'm ready to soak sun into my skin. and more than ever before, i'm feeling the desire to begin spring cleaning in our new home together. out with the old, in with the new! welcome color. welcome light. welcome spring. welcome new life. welcome Giver of new life.

maybe i can get rid of some of my spring cleaning discards here:

good news

i just heard from kat, and josiah is back to himself today! his fever seems to be gone, and he was busily eating noodles. :o)

jay & kat treated his fever all night, and decided to reschedule the follow-up appointment with the doc, since the weather there is nasty today and josiah was finally sleeping.

thank you for showing us love by your prayers. praise god for answering them so mercifully! and now for another fun photo of the smiley boy with his 90-year-old great grandma....

"like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land."

-proverbs 25:25

update on josiah

josiah celebrating with us at our wedding

the hospital put josiah on an i.v. of antibiotics yesterday, still not knowing what is causing his fever. though still very sick and exhausted, he seemed stable, so they released him to spend the night at home with his family. praise god! i'm sure he could sleep better in his usual surroundings. this morning they have to take him back to the doctor to try to determine what's going on.

thank you so much for your prayers. my family feels very blessed to know that even strangers are praying for josiah and our family. i will let you know more when i do, so you can check back later for updates.